Xiaomi Redmi launches in Singapore Feb 21

SINGAPORE — Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has made its first steps for a global presence with the launch announcement of their budget Redmi phone today (Feb 19). The phone will be available on the Xiaomi store at http://www.xiaomi.com/sg.

Xiaomi also announced the upcoming launch of their flagship Mi3 phone in Singapore on March 7 for S$419 without contract.

Known as Hongmi in China, the Redmi is a quad-core 1.5Ghz phone that runs a modified version of Android OS’ Jelly Bean, known as MIUI. The 4.7”-inch 720P IPS display phone comes with a 8MP, f/2.2 camera (1.3MP front camera) and 4GB of ROM flash memory, and expandable storage of up to 32GB, according to its website. It’s powered by a 2000mAh battery, and can support two SIM cards at once. It weighs 158g, and is just 69mm thick.

The MIUI user interface comes with downloadable themes that you can get from Xiaomi’s theme store. It also comes with a Lite Mode, that simplifies the Android interface for users with poor eyesight or who would rather stick to an easier-to-use, tile-based display.

Xiaomi will also be selling accessories for the Redmi. These include spare batteries (S$9.99 each), portable battery charger (S$9.99), a clear protective skin (S$4.99), and a matte protective skin (S$4.99). Soft gel protective cases will retail for S$8.99 each and come in blue, white, rose, yellow or black. An accessories bundle, that comes with a protective skin, spare battery, battery charger and protective case will retail at S$28.

The smartphone will be available online at http://www.xiaomi.com/sg from Feb 21, and from local telco StarHub from Feb 27. StarHub will retail the phone at S$0 on selected StarHub Mobile post-paid plans or at S$169 with a StarHub Mobile pre-paid bundle.